EDMONTON, Alberta (July 26, 2008) -- Keeping himself solidly in the
2008 IndyCar Series championship hunt, Helio Castroneves, driver of the
No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda, led the most laps and scored a
second-place finish in Saturday's Rexall Edmonton Indy at Edmonton
City Centre Airport, on a course he'd only seen for the first time
a few days before. Ryan Briscoe, driver of the No. 6 Team Penske
Dallara/Honda also had a solid points day with a sixth place finish, a
spot he battled for after involvement in a mid-race incident that placed
him in the back of the pack, but a combination of pit strategy and
driving skill pushed him up to the front.

Although the 14-turn, 1.973-mile temporary airport course was new to both
drivers, Briscoe started the 95-lap (scheduled, 91-lap actual/shortened
for time) event on the pole position, with Castroneves only a step behind
in second spot. This feat was the 50th one-two start in Penske
Racing's open-wheel history.

Castroneves' podium finish was hard-fought as he hunted down
IndyCar Series points leader and race winner Scott Dixon in the closing
laps of the event, who he was able to get to within tenths of a second of
overtaking. However, on lap 86, Castroneves made a slight bobble in Turn
1, which placed him a few seconds behind Dixon. "I was doing
everything I could just to keep up [with Dixon]," said Castroneves,
who is 65 points out of first place in the championship point standings.
"I was pushing and trying to put pressure on Dixon with every lap,
but he never made a mistake.

"The championship is still within reach. I'm just going to keep
working hard because it isn't over for Team Penske yet."

This is the sixth time Castroneves has finished second and his 11th
top-five finish in the 2008 IndyCar Series season.

Edmonton pole-sitter Briscoe finished in the sixth spot, his seventh
top-10 finish in 2008. His race started out well, but on a restart the
No. 6 Team Penske machine spun off course after making contact with the
No. 20 car, which had made contact with the No. 10. After the incident,
Briscoe was in 17th place, but pit strategy as called by Roger Penske,
along with a solid driving performance, saw Briscoe climb back up the
rankings.

"It was a bit of a frustrating day because I think we had a
podium-finishing car," said Briscoe. "Fuel strategy came
into play which moved people around, but it was the trouble on the
restart that was unfortunate because up until that point I was having a
real solid race.

"Once again, Roger (Penske) worked his strategy and we were able to
make up some spots, pass some cars and end up with a sixth-place
finish. I guess, all things considered, sixth place was a good result. We
picked up some points and were able to solidify fifth place in the
championship."

The IndyCar Series returns to oval racing on Saturday night, July 9 at
Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer Indy 300. The race is scheduled to air
live on ESPN2 and be broadcast live on the IMS Radio Network.